


Nothing Less

by Riyazura



Category: Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (Video Game), The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Admitting Wrongdoings, Adorable, Apologies, Cute, Developing Friendships, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Mystery, also the time travel gimmick isn't his fault, he's just trying his best, i didn't think i would love the guardiegg boi this much, some peeps do be hatin on my poor boi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:42:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27275884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riyazura/pseuds/Riyazura
Summary: An Age of Calamity one-shot. It is with a hesitant but lighthearted exchange that Link and the little egg-shaped Guardian become friends on the first night they spend guarding the lone Sheikah Tower together.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 65





	Nothing Less

**Author's Note:**

> **FINAL WARNING FOR AGE OF CALAMITY CHAPTER 1 SPOILERS.** Turn back now if you do not wish to be spoiled!

_"You must guard the mysterious tower that has appeared. I'm told it may be important._

_"As for this time-hopping Guardian... Is it truly deserving of our trust? You must discern this beyond any doubt, with the aid of the researchers._

_"May the Goddess Hylia watch over you always."_

_—Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule_

* * *

From the vantage point of Central Hyrule Tower, Link could see all of Hyrule Field enshrouded in pale white light whereupon the full moon shone.

He found the chill of the night air pleasant in comparison to the day's earlier heat, what with the bone-dry conditions of the Breach of Demise, and the stunt that Master Impa, Princess Zelda and he had pulled there that morning.

A lot of work went into ensuring that rogue Guardian's defeat, from reactivating three other automata allies to luring it into their range of fire. And then Link had parried its final desperate beam before it exploded into flames—what a rush _that_ was.

The little white Guardian he discovered was what had saved them in the first place, Link mused. _If it hadn't been there to awaken the first inactive Guardian that turned the battle's tide in our favor, we would've been hopeless._

 _That little one also brought back pictures from what could only be the Calamity we have yet to live through..._ He thought deeper with a shudder, though that may have been the blast of cold air blowing into the tower's uppermost spire scratching at the sky.

The soldier stood at the tower's edge. He turned his gaze from the sweeping plains below him to the miniature egg-shaped Guardian fidgeting beside him, keeping watch as he was. _"And_ you lifted this tower out of the ground. What next, little one?"

Upon realizing Link was speaking to it, the egg settled its illumine sapphire-blue eye on him and whistled what sounded like a shrug. If that was even possible, Link figured exasperatedly—but anything seemed possible with this strange little thing. He released a heaving sigh, and briefly closed his eyes.

"So many questions, yet so few answers. I really don't get it." He loosed a mirthless chuckle as he placed a hand on his hip, adjusting his stance. "Where did you come from— _when,_ in fact? And how in Hylia's name did you... _orchestrate_ all of this?"

It only took him a brief glance at the Guardian's innocent demeanor for Link to correct himself; "Not that I should expect an explanation. My utmost apologies, little one. That was rather indecent of me." He recomposed his usually impeccable posture, his hands wrapped neatly over his broadsword's pommel and his hardened gaze watching stoicly over the silvery plains once more.

"I still wonder what your name is, or if you even have one at all, though," Link began again. "It's a shame we can't learn of it otherwise. I'm getting a little tired of calling you 'little one.' Maybe if you had a definitive name, every advisor wouldn't treat you so harshly upon their first look at you. I saw the terror in your eye when Dr. Robbie put his hands around you. Gods, what a character," the soldier grimaced, rolling his eyes. "And why would Master Impa try to touch your _eye,_ of all places? Don't get me wrong, Impa is the nicest, most friendly advisor in the whole military, but that was a little... I guess, _near_ _sighted,_ of her? Is that joke too off-brand?" He asked frankly, his brow creased in apprehension.

Link was caught off-guard when he heard an indignant whistle beside him and the sound of metal claws stomping on stone—the little Guardian was certainly angry with him.

Then he thought back to when he had tackled the poor thing down and lifted it up with little regard for its dignity, puppy-eyed as it was at the Princess. He internally cringed; "Oh. Sorry. I was the one who started the whole trend, huh? Guess I'm the nearsighted one." He bounced on his heels as he bent down slightly, offering the egg a tentative smile, of which it seemed to begrudgingly accept.

A silence stretched out between them, so Link resorted to admiring the stars that stippled the night sky encompassing the seclusion of their tower. "Beautiful skies tonight. The stars flicker such a breathtaking shade of gold if you look closely. Wish I could distinguish all of these constellations by name—wish I could distinguish them _at all,_ in fact."

The egg hadn't deigned to answer, of course. But that was exactly why Link spoke to it at all—it could never tell anyone else.

Link exhaled with a dismal despondency about him. "Wish I could talk to everyone else the way I can talk to you," he blurted honestly, lowering his gaze to his hands resting atop his pommel. "It's not easy obligating oneself to remain silent for the sake of propriety."

When Link's gaze met the Guardian's next, he found it staring at him. Its expression was infallibly unreadable, still as a statue as it analyzed him with its single hypnotizing eye. The boy's mood soured—why did it want to be distant _now,_ of all times? When before it had usually been exuberant and empathetic, it decided that now it wanted to be quiet, as if it were alive at all. It was a robot! A machine!

Such a confusing hunk of ancient technology. And it had only made their situation against the Calamity more convoluted.

"What? Quit giving me that look; if you want to make something clear, then go ahead and do it in your usually obvious and obnoxious way already."

The egg-shaped machine closed the gap between them quietly, its claws clicking against the tower's surface, and brought one set of talons to Link's pant leg, pulling at it slightly. _Carefully,_ he noticed. Considerately. Withdrawing its vigor for an action more articulate and gentle.

It bleeped in an inquiring tone, peering up at his face in a manner most imploring. Link groaned with an exasperated sag of his shoulders before he took his broadsword's scabbard in one hand and sunk to one knee—"Alright, lay it on me, little one. What is it?"

The Guardian uttered not a whirr as it clambered slightly closer, _closer,_ until it rubbed against the plate of his soldier's greaves, wriggling itself into the crook of his arm.

Link was baffled. "What're you…?"

The Guardian whistled happily once, and then again, this time hopping up on its back set of talons when Link still stared in befuddlement. It had finally resided to nuzzling against his arm and nudging at his hand, and that was when his mind finally clicked.

"Oh." The soldier readjusted himself, sitting gracelessly down with his legs folded underneath him, propriety be damned. He placed his broadsword next to him, and stretched both of his arms out: "You want pats, don't you? Some attention?"

Link didn't think the little one could get more excited as it leapt all aflutter after he leaned adoptively over it. He was sorely mistaken, however, when it sprung up, hitting him smack-dab in the jaw. And though it did hurt without a doubt when his teeth clacked together, he couldn't allow himself anything less than a volley of laughs which burst forth as he gave in to the Guardian's acquisition.

"You're _crazy,_ you know that? I just can't stay angry with you!" Link was exhilarated and out of breath as he rubbed furiously at the little one's sides, a gleaming grin playing at his lips. It leaned into either side, this way and that, whirring delighted whistles of approval upon every zig-zagged stroke of his gauntleted hands.

"There," Link finally attested in a voice swollen with joy when he was finished, "that makes it even, huh, little one?"

The Guardian seemed to nod with its whole weight. Its beeps of affirmation soared into the open night air.

"I'm sorry again for being so callous in all I've said before," Link sighed, his smile escaping into his breath. "There's a lot to think about—that was the main reason I decided to keep watch tonight, anyway. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep after all we've learned today. It's a disconcerting thought, what with those few images you had saved to your memory and all."

Link's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the little Guardian. It only came up to his knees when he was standing, and its pure white surface was unlike any other Guardian the researchers had ever seen. And despite its apparent incompetence due to its small stature, it had already proved itself capable of feats unique to its model. And the images it had saved in its memories displayed such destruction, such _death..._ How could it have gotten away with so little damage itself? Link had found it completely unscathed where it lay inactive. Had it brought itself to safety, or had something else given it that gift of escape? Some _one,_ perhaps?

Maybe that was why it was so attached to Princess Zelda. In fact, now that Link thought about it, the little one had always seemed anxious for her safety, always eager to be in her sights when it could sense she was nearby... Would that be why it was always so entranced by her in particular?

"What all do you know?" Link asked, and for the third time that night, he reminded himself he would receive no answers, but he couldn't stop himself from prying—"What have you seen out there, in the future?"

It was infuriating. This innocent little Guardian... The corporeal confirmation of disaster stood right in front of them all, its answers to the future just out of reach, and there was likely no way they could ever translate those answers into something tangible before the worst of its premonitions came to pass.

"You're awfully confounding," Link murmured contemplatively. He scooted his knees into his chest and rested his chin on his arms. "You've exceeded all of our expectations, and in the most bizarre of ways—this tower rising up, the Sheikah Slate's functions being accessible to both me and Master Impa, and those Guardians you activated... But you did all those acts out of mercy. There's no way you could be malicious like King Rhoam suspects."

If this little one had traveled back in time to warn them of the imminent danger that could befall them at any moment, then that should have already proven its loyalty enough. It seemed it had traveled back in time to help Princess Zelda especially, but he was faithful that it considered Master Impa and him, too—the little one cared enough to offer Link some much-needed solace just now in how it had politely requested to give him some affection. It had to have good intentions. It _had_ to.

Link cocked his head, humming pensively. "The King is reluctant to trust you, you know. Now, I'm not sure why, because all you've been up to this point is helpful, but I suppose he has reason in his judgement. I've decided that _I_ trust you, at least, and I have no doubt Master Impa and Princess Zelda have done so as well. I'm sure you'll do all you can to help us stop the Calamity. That is, if you haven't already. But I'm sure you've got more tricks up your sleeve we have yet to see."

Link rose to his feet, granting the egg-shaped Guardian one last smile of gratification. "Sound like a deal, little one? Are we on better terms now?"

It dipped forward in a nod, eager as ever as it whistled its agreement on fidgeting legs. It had already proven a fine asset to their team in vanquishing the Calamity, and so it would continue to be. It would help them out. Link had faith.

He expected nothing less of the little one.

**Author's Note:**

> It feels so weird to be writing for Age of Calamity, and not Breath of the Wild. It's like BotW is being flipped on its head and trivialized, especially with all the buzz about AoC's time travel causing the events of BotW to split into a completely different timeline, or perhaps, /perhaps/ even causing the two games' events to intersect into one other... It's very thought-provoking. And definitely strange. Link feels like a completely different character here than in BotW, and he speaks of the future that we know to be BotW as if its something completely foreign and unimaginable; little does he know of his own death... And he doesn't even know he's the Chosen Hero yet, either! AoC is going in the complete opposite direction than I expected!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this one-shot! AoC has been on my mind all day yesterday and today, so writing this was a blast! Thank you for reading; comments and critique are welcome!


End file.
